5 Comments

Anita Smith
on May 9, 2013 at 7:31 am

If I could see her tail, I could tell more easily. She looks like several juvenile hawks in my field guide. If she’s full grown, she looks like a Northern Harrier. I’d say she’s a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk, because I see them here in Central Va all the time. If you ever drive Rt 29 in VA, you’ll see them every few miles up in the trees.

We have one that has very similar markings and colour that visits our garden frequently. It likes to sit in our apple tree for hours. It also likes to make a meal of the mourning doves that also visit:(

The closest I could find in my bird book was a Harrier Hawk but I’m really not sure.

Susan
on May 9, 2013 at 9:50 pm

I suspected a Harrier Hawk might be correct, but it’s very tough to tell. Thanks for the feedback. I am especially glad she is not in my yard!